Our Week in the Forest...
This week the weather has presented the children with a whole range of experiences, from mild mornings more suited to springtime to downpours that have left the forest floor covered in puddles and sticky mud.
Exploration and discovery has been a huge part of every day with the children observing and discussing all the changes taking place during their adventure walks in the morning. The spectacular colours of the trees and abundance of falling leaves and catkins have offered them so many opportunities to discuss natures transformations and to collect materials that they could later use in their activities. Alongside this they have noticed how the gardeners are also taking care of the gardens during this time of year through pruning, weeding and installing bird feeders.
One such activity has been using elder after spotting some elder trees that the gardeners had given a little ‘haircut’. After preparing the branches by cutting them into small bead sized pieces the children used the palm drills to push out the pith from the pieces of elder. Once they had made enough for their designs they carefully threaded them onto a piece of elasticated string.
Many of the children have also been exploring the vast complex network of branches in the ‘nest’, wriggling and squirming through the gaps and showing their compassion and care for their friends as they lifted and pushed branches to help each other negotiate the spaces. This evolved into a child-led construction project, together they lifted and carefully placed planks of wood and loose branches into the tree to create a treehouse with platforms for sitting on, shelves for their pots and pans and even a slide!
With the abundance of rain the children have also been fascinated by how it has been collecting on the tarps, pooling around the tree stumps and sitting on the leaves. Some children worked together by poking the tarps with a stick and watching the mini ‘waterfall’ appear over the edge, this evolved into seeing how much they could catch in a container or making it into a trap for any unsuspecting educator!
Next week the children will be learning how to make their own bird feeders to support the work of the Palace gardeners and also learning about how to protect them from the squirrels.
Wishing you all a wonderful weekend!
Little Forest Folk
Fulham